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Super Family Sunday

Super Family Sundays are appreciation days for families who have children with physical disabilities and learning differences. Designed and hosted by a team of expert educators, we aim to provide a positive and liberating experience, in a tolerant and welcoming environment, for the whole family to enjoy together. This program began in 2010 and has accommodated over 1,700 guests during more than twenty events.

The Super Family Sunday events address a lack of quality science learning experiences for children with disabilities. Each event includes hands-on encounters with the Junior Museum & Zoo’s (JMZ) animals, such hedgehogs, skinks, bats, ferrets, and more. Unique science activities are also offered, such as exploring bubbles, investigating solar electricity, building structures and more. These formative science experiences shape the future attitudes of young children on environmental conservation and as competent science learners.

Kristin Amos, a mother of a child with autism, says, “I watched both my kids open up and blossom with the exposure to the animals and amazing staff here.”

Super Family Sunday events are part of a broader inclusion and accessibility initiative that will be expanded in the new Junior Museum & Zoo when it opens in 2020. The new JMZ will be more accessible to visitors and more engaged with the disability community.

In the words of a parent whose child has autism, “There are so few places we can go as a family where Leo will enjoy himself, and where we needn’t worry about a scene if his enjoyment ceases … There are many places Leo tolerates but few where he and his sisters get to have fun.”